Back in April it was announced a specially prepared MINI E Race had lapped the Nürburgring in under 10 minutes. In this age of Porsche v Nissan lap wars sub-10 minute laps times are nothing too special. But, when you consider that the MINI E used to post this lap did so under full electric power, with zero emissions, then the achievement begins to take on a new perspective. That’s because it was a world first.
At the time a brief video was released to YouTube. It was great to see the MINI in action and all, but it was a highlights reel than ran for around 90 seconds and there is an audio track over the top of the raw footage. You want to see the full lap, right?
Through graft and persistence AUSmotive can now show you the entire 9 minute 51 second lap. The footage is unedited and there is no extra audio.
A few things stand out. Firstly, just how foggy the conditions were when this time was recorded. Visibility in some sections was severely compromised. It was a closed track, of course, but that didn’t make things that much easier for the driver Thomas Jäger.
You will also notice the lack of engine noise, of course. It’s not totally quiet and there are some whining sounds emanating from the drivetrain. Under braking, too, you can hear the MINI E whirring away. Apart from that, though, the only other noise you hear is the growl of the semi slick tyres from time to time.
While watching the lap you can see the timer mounted at the base of the speedometer so as to keep an eye on progress. Incidentally, when the speedo needle is pointing upright the car is doing 130km/h. Top speed on the Döttinger Hohe straight was 187km/h.
Take the jump now to watch the world’s first zero emission lap of the full Nürburgring Nordschleife. For more on the MINI E Race click HERE.